You Can't Have It All
Shot night was Friday night. In the past several weeks, I've been noticing more side effects, as well as feeling more pain when I took the shot. My Avonex nurse called on Friday to check in with me, and she suggested I take the medicine out even earlier, to make sure it gets to room temperature before the shot. So I took it out before we headed out to dinner.
This shot did hurt less. And I had fewer side effects the next day - just a mild fever, and I was tired out after shopping and going to the movies. But there's a nice big bruise on my left thigh, because I bruised myself when I gave myself the shot. I cannot win. Either I feel worse, or I look worse. My dad asked me if Tim hurt me while giving me the shot, but I 'fessed up that I was the one responsible for the bruise.
And now is not the time to start giving myself mega-bruises, with summer heat already making a brief visit this past weekend. I don't really want to spend 90+ degree days in long pants just to hide the mark.
Sun Care
The nurse gave me loads of useful information during our phone call on Friday. She talked about some of the issues associated with photosensitivity. My eyes may be more sensitive to light, so I need to make sure to wear my sunglasses. A light bulb went off inside my head when she mentioned that. Earlier in the week, I had driven home on an overcast day, but I still had to put on my sunglasses to avoid squinting.
(Psst, don't tell the nurse, but I forgot to bring my sunglasses to work today.)
She also mentioned that my skin is more susceptible to burning, so I need to be extra careful about using sunscreen. Yeah, that's just what a pale person with Swedish and Welsh in her background wants to hear. Like I don't have enough trouble already.
We're going to the beach over Memorial Day weekend, and I'm already planning some of the essentials. A crate of sunscreen (since Tim is even paler than I am!) is at the top of the list. And the last time I went to the beach, I had taken along a lot of water bottles that I had frozen. It turned out to be a great plan, so I'll make sure we're well-stocked again this trip.
Monday, May 12, 2003
Wednesday, May 07, 2003
Catching up on life can get in the way of writing about life.
Health
I reacted worse to my most recent shot than I had in awhile. I was so tired, and my fever lasted until Sunday morning. Tim sang with the NC Symphony, but I had to miss the performance because I just didn't have the energy. I got dizzy walking to the mailbox, so we didn't want to chance it.
I've also been noticing more numbness in my right leg. It comes and goes, and it's never all that dramatic. It doesn't affect my mobility. It's just one of those nuisance things.
House Update
We're still in the preliminary stages, trying to pick out what colors everything will be, the tile, etc. etc. etc. Last Sunday we spent the afternoon looking through models to see some of the options, since you can't tell much from a 12x12 tile stuck to a piece of cardboard. Then we hung out in the Design Center looking things over. Mom and Sue ran into us there and offered some help. Then we headed over to their new places to see how construction was (or wasn't) proceeding.
Food
One of the cool things about spring is all of the fresh produce that's available. My company has an agreement with some local farmers, where we buy shares and they bring their wares to the office weekly. I've been getting cheese and tomatoes, and this week we started getting our big basket of produce from an organic farmer. Loads of greens, greens, greens, so we're eating loads of salads, salads, salads. Everything looked gorgeous as I unloaded it from the basket yesterday, so it's been quite easy to get psyched up for salad. They also brought me organic strawberries (yum!), fresh herbs, and some fresh flowers to brighten up our home.
We had a plant sale at work to benefit the day care center. I promised to behave, but for the third year in a row I went overboard. Tim's a good sport, though, because he did enjoy the cherry tomatoes I grew last year. I told Tim I was planning to buy basil, cilantro, and maybe jalapeno peppers this year. Well, in addition to those purchases (and should I mention I bought two different types of basil?), I also bought Roma tomatoes and yellow peppers. This weekend I'll plant everything in the containers. We'll see how long things last before I kill them, or how long it takes for them to go wild. I didn't buy any mint, because the peppermint and garden mint I bought last year have come back quite nicely, thank you very much. Tim's hoping things grow well, because he loves yellow peppers, and because homemade salsa is so yummy. If my plants produce well, he'll have fresh salsa practically on demand.
Health
I reacted worse to my most recent shot than I had in awhile. I was so tired, and my fever lasted until Sunday morning. Tim sang with the NC Symphony, but I had to miss the performance because I just didn't have the energy. I got dizzy walking to the mailbox, so we didn't want to chance it.
I've also been noticing more numbness in my right leg. It comes and goes, and it's never all that dramatic. It doesn't affect my mobility. It's just one of those nuisance things.
House Update
We're still in the preliminary stages, trying to pick out what colors everything will be, the tile, etc. etc. etc. Last Sunday we spent the afternoon looking through models to see some of the options, since you can't tell much from a 12x12 tile stuck to a piece of cardboard. Then we hung out in the Design Center looking things over. Mom and Sue ran into us there and offered some help. Then we headed over to their new places to see how construction was (or wasn't) proceeding.
Food
One of the cool things about spring is all of the fresh produce that's available. My company has an agreement with some local farmers, where we buy shares and they bring their wares to the office weekly. I've been getting cheese and tomatoes, and this week we started getting our big basket of produce from an organic farmer. Loads of greens, greens, greens, so we're eating loads of salads, salads, salads. Everything looked gorgeous as I unloaded it from the basket yesterday, so it's been quite easy to get psyched up for salad. They also brought me organic strawberries (yum!), fresh herbs, and some fresh flowers to brighten up our home.
We had a plant sale at work to benefit the day care center. I promised to behave, but for the third year in a row I went overboard. Tim's a good sport, though, because he did enjoy the cherry tomatoes I grew last year. I told Tim I was planning to buy basil, cilantro, and maybe jalapeno peppers this year. Well, in addition to those purchases (and should I mention I bought two different types of basil?), I also bought Roma tomatoes and yellow peppers. This weekend I'll plant everything in the containers. We'll see how long things last before I kill them, or how long it takes for them to go wild. I didn't buy any mint, because the peppermint and garden mint I bought last year have come back quite nicely, thank you very much. Tim's hoping things grow well, because he loves yellow peppers, and because homemade salsa is so yummy. If my plants produce well, he'll have fresh salsa practically on demand.
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